The Origins of Psychology

Question 1

Who was the first person to call themselves a psychologist?

Answer 1

Wilhelm Wundt

Question 2

What did Wilhelm Wundt believe about nature and the human mind?

Answer 2

it could be studied scientifically

Question 3

How did Wundt’s approach help psychology?

Answer 3

paved way for the acceptance of psychology as a distinct science in its own right

Question 4

What was Wundt’s main aim?

Answer 4

to study the structure of the human mind

Question 5

What did Wundt believe was the best way to study the structure of the human mind?

Answer 5

to break down behaviours such as sensation and perception into their basic elements

Question 6

What is Wundt’s approach and technique called?

Answer 6

approach - structuralism

technique - introspection

Question 7

What is introspection?

Answer 7

process by which a person gains knowledge about his or her own mental and emotional states

Question 8

What did Wundt claim (regarding introspection)?

Answer 8

with sufficient training, mental processes such as memory and perception could be observed systematically as they occurred using introspection

Question 9

Give an example of introspection

Answer 9

being shown an object and being asked to reflect upon how they were perceiving it

Question 10

Outline Wundt’s study into perception

Answer 10

1. pps would be presented with carefully controlled stimuli (e.g. visual images or auditory tones)
2. they were then asked to give a description of the inner process they were experiencing as they looked at the image or listened to the tone.
3. Wundt was then able to compare different pp’s reports in response to the same stimuli, and so establish general theories about perception

Question 11

What do empiricists believe?

Answer 11

that knowledge comes from observation and experience alone (rather than being innate).

Question 12

What are the 2 major assumptions the ‘scientific’ approach to psychology based on?

Answer 12

1. all behaviour is seen as being caused
2. behaviour is determined, and therefore, it should be possible to predict how human beings would behave in different conditions

Question 13

What is the scientific method?

Answer 13

refers to the use of investigative methods that are objective, systematic and replicable

Question 14

How is the scientific method objective?

Answer 14

researchers do not let preconceived ideas or biases influence the collection of their data

Question 15

How is the scientific method systematic?

Answer 15

observations or experiments are carried out in a controlled environment. Measurement and recording of empirical data are carried out accurately and with due consideration for the possible influence of other factors on the results obtained

Question 16

How is the scientific method replicable?

Answer 16

observations can be repeated by other researchers to determine whether the same results are obtained

Question 17

If results are not replicable…

Answer 17

then they are not reliable and cannot be accepted as being universally true

Question 18

Is the scientific method research process limited to empirical observation alone?

Answer 18

NO

the research process also necessitates the use of reason to explain the results of these observations

Question 19

What is the cycle of the development of scientific theories?

Answer 19

1. objective, systematic and replicable observation
2. building, refining or falsifying
3. development of a scientific theory
4. testing
   (repeat)

Question 20

What are the 5 evaluation points for the origins of psychology?

Answer 20

1. Wundt’s methods were unreliable
2. a scientific approach tests assumptions about behaviour
3. a scientific approach is not always appropriate
4. introspection is not particularly accurate
5. introspection is still useful in scientific psychology

Question 21

What is the PEEL paragraph for the origins of psychology evaluation point; Wundt’s methods were unreliable?

Answer 21

P - a criticism of Wundt’s structuralist approach, mainly from behaviourists, was that this approach relied primarily on ‘non observable’ responses
E - although participants could report on their conscious experiences, the processes themselves (e.g. memory, perception) were considered to be unobservable constructions.
E - Wundt’s approach ultimately failed because of the lack of reliability of his methods. Introspective ‘experimental’ results were not reliably reproducible by other researchers in other laboratories
L - However, the early behaviourist such as Pavlov and Thorndike were already achieving reliably reproducible results and discovering explanatory principles that could be easily generalised to all human beings

Question 22

What is the PEEL paragraph for the origins of psychology evaluation point; a scientific approach tests assumptions about behaviour?

Answer 22

P - because of its reliance on objective and systematic methods of observation, knowledge acquired using the scientific method is more than just the passive acceptance of theories about behaviour
E - this means that scientific methods are able to establish the causes of behaviour through the use of methods that are both empirical and replicable
L - a consequence of this is that if scientific theories no longer fit the facts, they can be refined or abandoned, meaning that scientific knowledge is self-corrective

Question 23

What is the PEEL paragraph for the origins of psychology evaluation point; a scientific approach is not always appropriate

Answer 23

P - not all psychologists share the view that all human behaviour can, or should, be explored by the use of scientific methods
E - if human behaviour is not subject to the laws and regularities implied by scientific methods, then predictions become impossible and these methods are inappropriate
E - likewise, much of the subject matter of psychology is unobservable, therefore cannot be measured with any degrees of accuracy
L - a consequence of this is that much of psychological knowledge is inferential, i.e. there is a gap between the actual data obtained in research investigations and the theories put forward to explain this data

Question 24

What is the PEEL paragraph for the origins of psychology evaluation point; introspection is not particularly accurate

Answer 24

P - Nisbet and Wilson (1977) claim that we have very little knowledge of the causes of, and processes underlying, our behaviour and attitudes
E - Nisbett and WIlson found this problem was particularly acute in the study of implicit attitudes, i.e. attitudes or stereotypes that are unknown to us
E - for example, a person may be implicitly racist, which influences the way they react to members of a different ethnic group
L - because such attitudes exist outside of conscious awareness, self-reports through introspection would not uncover them. This challenges the value of introspective reports in exploring the roots of our behaviour

Question 25

What is the PEEL paragraph for the origins of psychology evaluation point; introspection is still useful in scientific psychology

Answer 25

P - despite the fact that introspection rapidly fell out of favour as a research tool, it has not been entirely abandoned by psychologists, and in recent years it has made something of a comeback
E - Csikszentmihalyi and Hunter (2003) used introspective methods as a way of making ‘happiness’ a measurable phenomenon. They gave a group of teenagers beepers that went off during a random time throughout the day, requiring them to write down their thoughts and feelings in the moment before the beep.
E – most of the entries indicated that the teens were unhappy rather than happy, but when their energies were focused on a challenging task, they tended to be more upbeat.
L - introspection therefore offers researchers a way of understanding more clearly the momentary conditions that affect happiness, and as such may help them to improve the quality of our lives